President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday that Moscow's proposal to use frozen Russian assets to help fund reconstruction on its own territory, particularly the Kursk region, was "nonsense."
Speaking to reporters in a WhatsApp media chat, he added that Kyiv would "fight" to be able to use all frozen Russian assets to fund post-war recovery inside Ukraine.
Trilateral peace talks
Zelensky's remarks come as Ukrainian, US, and Russian negotiators are set to begin peace talks on Friday and continue through Saturday in the United Arab Emirates.
This trilateral meeting marks the first time all three parties have gathered since Moscow’s full-scale invasion in 2022.
US talks with Russia
The talks were initiated after President Donald Trump's special envoy, Steve Witkoff, and Jared Kushner, met with Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday.
Kremlin aide Yury Ushakov described thursday's discussions with the US representatives as “exceptionally substantive, constructive, and, I would say, extremely frank and confidential.” He confirmed that Russia would participate in the inaugural meeting of the trilateral working group on security issues alongside representatives from Ukraine and the US, according to a CNN report.
Witkoff stated on Thursday that "a lot of progress" has been made in the Ukraine peace talks, with negotiations narrowing down to a single final issue.
The United States has engaged in discussions with Russia and, independently, with Ukrainian and European leaders on various proposals to resolve the conflict. However, no agreement has been reached despite Trump’s repeated promises to finalize a deal.
"If both sides want to solve this, we're going to get it solved," Witkoff told an audience at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
A day earlier, President Trump had remarked at the Davos forum that it would be "stupid" for the leaders of Russia and Ukraine to fail to come together and reach an agreement.